Chapter Twenty One

“Hampton. Thank you for letting me come to call when I did not give prior notice of my arrival.”

Lord Hampton spread out his hands. “I must say, it is better than receiving a note demanding that I attend your townhouse.”

Stephen flushed and dropped his gaze. “You are quite right,” he said, quietly. “Hampton, there is a good deal that I must apologise to you for. I have not been the friend I ought to have been. You were a great support to me on my wedding day, on that dreadful day when nothing made sense and everything was dark. Thereafter, however, I chose to turn my back not only on you but on everyone.” Closing his eyes, Stephen let out a slow breath, finding it difficult to admit to his failings but also to speak words of an apology though he knew very well that they were required. “I should not have ignored your letters. I should not have pulled myself into such darkness. I should have listened to Caroline and to you. I have no doubt that your letters were full of encouragements and the like and yet, in my pain, I ignored them all. Thereafter,” he continued, the words coming quickly now as he prayed silently that Lord Hampton would not interrupt him, “I placed a great deal of blame at your feet as regards what happened with Caroline. I was not sympathetic to her circumstances nor her feelings. I was only considerate of my own,” he finished, a little heavily. “Forgive me for that, Hampton. It is an apology which comes much too late, I am sure, but all the same, I am genuine in all that I have said.”

Lord Hampton’s eyebrows lifted just a little, though he began to smile which, Stephen considered, was a great relief.

“I thank you for that,” he said, speaking rather slowly as though he were somewhat astonished to hear the apology from Stephen. “I accept it, of course. It is much appreciated.”

Stephen nodded, clearing his throat as a sense of embarrassment washed over him. “It is much delayed, I am sure,” he said, quietly. “Thank you for what you have done as regards Caroline. I – ”

“I wish to court her.”

Stephen blinked in astonishment, his eyes flaring wide as he looked back at Lord Hampton and saw him lift his chin a notch in clear determination.

“I care for her and she cares for me,” Lord Hampton continued, as Stephen continued to stare back at him in surprise. “She is everything to me, Lancaster. I want nothing more than to be with her. The only thing I want is to court her with the intention of marriage. I must ask for your blessing, of course, but –”

“You have it!” Stephen laughed, his astonishment turning into joy as he saw Lord Hampton’s eyes widen. “Goodness, I could not think of a better gentleman to have Caroline’s hand in marriage! You are the very best of gentlemen, it is clear to me that you care for her deeply and for that, I am grateful. More than you can know. Of course you may court her. If she is happy, if she desires the same as you, then I give you my blessing.”

Lord Hampton blinked furiously, clearly rather surprised that Stephen had given his consent so quickly. “That is very good of you. I thank you.”

“Speaking of Caroline,” Stephen continued, as Lord Hampton went across the room to pour them both a brandy, “I must ask for your help.”

“Oh?”

Seeing his friend’s frown, Stephen quickly explained all that had happened between Lady Violet and himself. “I am in love with her and she loves me in return,” he finished, as Lord Hampton handed Stephen his brandy. “But her father will not only threaten her, but also myself and even Caroline. You too would be under threat in that regard. I want to be close to Lady Violet again but she will not accept me if there is no way to free us from Lord Craighall’s threats.”

“Goodness.” Lord Hampton rubbed one hand over his eyes and then took a sip of his brandy. “That is concerning.”

“It is.”

“And what can you do?” Lord Hampton asked, as Stephen lifted his shoulders and let them fall. “There must be something that can be done to stop Lord Craighall’s determinations.”

“That is why I am here,” Stephen replied, softly. “How can I connect myself to Lady Violet but keep Lord Craighall’s threats at bay?”

Lord Hampton frowned. “I am not certain. You could confront him on it?”

Stephen hesitated, one hand at his chin. “I suppose that might be something I could do.”

“Telling him that you know of his threats will at the very least, make him aware that you know everything he has done thus far,” Lord Hampton continued, as Stephen nodded slowly. “There must be something that can be said or done to convince him not to do as he has stated he will to Lady Violet. Though I must say, it is truly dreadful to hear that a father would do and say such a thing to their daughter!”

“It is.”

Lord Hampton tilted his head. “I suppose you could speak to him about the matter and make it quite clear that you will never give him the coin that he demands and, thereafter, tell him that he is no longer to threaten his daughter.”

“Though he could then take Lady Violet from me, refuse to give his consent and – ”

“I had not thought of that,” Lord Hampton interrupted, clearly a little frustrated that they could not come up with anything. “It is rather difficult, is it not? I do not know what else to suggest. I am sorry.”

Stephen smiled tightly. “It is not your fault. It is not as though I am able to come up with an idea either! Lady Violet also spoke to me last evening about her sister and it means I am now fully aware of all that he might do not only to Lady Violet but also to Lady Marianne, should he wish to.” Sighing, he closed his eyes briefly. “The only thing I might do is…” He trailed off, a slight frown flickering across his face. “I could, I suppose, give him what he wants.”

Lord Hampton’s eyebrows flew high. “I beg your pardon?”

“I could give him what he wants,” Stephen repeated, his eyes widening. “Could I not? I could give him the coin that he requires and thereafter, hope that he will never again come to concern himself with such a thing.”

Clearly considering this, Lord Hampton began to nod, only for a frown to cross his forehead. “Wait, that will not work. If you did that, then what is to stop him from squandering it all and instead, returning to you and insisting that you give him more? Those threats could return and then you would find yourself in a more difficult situation all over again.”

Stephen thought about this and slowly began to nod. “Yes, that is so. But there must be a way for this to work. A way where I can… yes! I have it!”

“You do?”

Nodding fervently, Stephen gazed back at his friend. “I have a way to convince him.”

“You do?”

“I do.”

Lord Hampton smiled. “Then I am glad for you. I think that you and Lady Violet are meant to be contented and happy together and I am glad indeed that you have found yourself being given another chance at this.”

“It is only because I finally forced myself to listen,” Stephen answered with a small shrug. “Realising the truth demanded that I step out of the darkness and instead face Lady Violet again. Had I not done that, had I not been convinced by Caroline, then I do not think that I would be standing here before you now.”

Lord Hampton lifted his glass of brandy. “Then to your happiness, Lancaster.”

Stephen grinned. “I thank you,” he replied, lifting his own glass in a toast. “Might I ask if you would be willing to come with me?”

“To Lord Craighall’s townhouse?”

Stephen shook his head. “No, to my solicitors. I want them to draw up a contract and I should like to hear your opinion of it.”

“Very well. Anything I can do that will not only protect you but also Caroline, I will be more than glad to assist with.”

With a nod, Stephen threw back the rest of his brandy and, thereafter, made his way straight to the door, Lord Hampton following after him. There was much to be done and the sooner he could speak to Lord Craighall, the better.

***

“Your Grace?”

Stephen lifted his chin as he walked directly into Lord Craighall’s study, Lord Hampton by his side.

“Forgive me, I was not expecting you.” The slightly surprised look on Lord Craighall’s face drew into a smile, though it did not appear to be greatly convincing given the way that his eyes flicked between Stephen and Lord Hampton and back again. “I did not think –”

“I have come to tell you that Lady Violet and I have returned to our previous state,” Stephen stated, seeing Lord Craighall’s eyes widen. “I have not yet asked her to marry me but I have every intention of doing so very soon.”

Lord Craighall stared back at Stephen, the smile fixing to his face. “I beg your pardon?”

“We are to marry,” Stephen repeated, as Lord Hampton folded his arms over his chest. “It should have happened three years ago but because of your demands, we could not do so.”

“My demands?” Lord Craighall immediately threw up his hands and began to shake his head. “No, Your Grace, it was not my doing. Violet herself – ”

“Violet herself attempted to escape from your townhouse so that she could still make her way to the church and marry me,” Stephen interrupted firmly, determined that he would not listen to a single word of untruth from Lord Craighall. “Do not think that I will accept or believe anything but the truth, Lord Craighall. You may attempt to lie to me, you may attempt to deny everything but I can assure you, I will not accept it. I know everything.” Taking a step closer, he narrowed his eyes. “Everything.”

He saw the moment that Lord Craighall understood what it was he meant. The gentleman stared at him for a moment, only for a deep, red flush to begin to creep up his neck and into his face. His eyes dropped and he began to stammer, though Stephen gave him very little chance to speak.

“You demanded that Lady Violet end our engagement on her very wedding day because you learned that I did not have as great a fortune as you thought,” Stephen continued, as Lord Craighall clasped his hands in front of him, staying safely behind his study desk rather than looking at him. “And even now, now that you begin to push Lady Violet back towards me in the hope of rekindling our connection, you insist that she marry me with the same expectation – that she will force me to give you a great deal of coin in order to boost your fortune.”

“This is preposterous!” Lord Craighall exclaimed, clearly now deciding to ignore everything that Stephen had said and pretend that he had been mistaken. “I can assure you, my – ”

“If you continue on with your lies, then I will have to consider calling you out.”

Those words made Lord Craighall jump in astonishment and perhaps even fright, his eyes rounding as he gazed back at Stephen.

“Lady Violet has told me of the threats you made. You would truly be willing to drag my sister’s name through the mud?”

Lord Craighall blinked rapidly, a spot of color coming into each cheek. He said nothing and the silence grew and grew.

Stephen exchanged a glance with Lord Hampton.

“Might I say that, as the gentleman who will soon find himself engaged to Lady Caroline, that this is truly a great threat.” Lord Hampton lifted an eyebrow as Lord Craighall glanced at him. “Neither myself nor the Duke are at all pleased at your threats, Lord Craighall.”

“And such things must be taken seriously,” Stephen continued, before Lord Craighall could even think about making excuses. “Do you not understand? There are to be consequences for this. For all of this.”

“What do you intend to do?” Lord Craighall’s voice was low and quiet, his fear obvious in his wide eyes. “It is your word against mine.”

“And do not forget that Lady Violet has told us all and her word must count for something,” Stephen added, seeing the way that Lord Craighall’s lip curled. “One of this is to fall upon her shoulders, Lord Craighall. I make that quite clear, quite plain to you now. There are to be no consequences as regards Lady Violet. If you should think of even putting a single thing upon her shoulders, then the consequences for you will be all the greater.”

Lord Craighall swallowed and glanced towards Lord Hampton, though the gentleman said nothing and instead, simply stood there with his arms folded across his chest.

“Here, now.” Setting out the contract he had only just had his solicitors come up with, Stephen walked across the room and set it out upon Lord Craighall’s desk. “You will sign this, Craighall.”

The gentleman’s eyes darted towards it. “What is it?”

“It is a contract,” Stephen stated, firmly. “It states that you give your consent to the marriage between Lady Violet and myself, and that you will not be required to give her dowry to me.”

Lord Craighall’s eyes flared. “I beg your pardon?”

“I do not require her dowry,” Stephen replied, calmly. “It also states that, should you ever demand money from either myself or from Lady Violet, then you will be required not only to pay the dowry but to pay it threefold.”

Lord Craighall’s stomach twisted and his throat bobbed. “Threefold?”

“Yes,” Stephen stated, crisply. “Threefold. I am sure you can understand my concern, Lord Craighall. I fully intend to go into my future without any of your threats hanging onto either myself or onto my wife. Do I make myself clear?”

The gentleman nodded slowly. “But I do not have to sign it.”

“If you do not, then both myself and the Duke of Lancaster will call you out,” Lord Hampton said, crisply. “You will face us with pistols at dawn. Do you understand, Lord Craighall?” He gestured to the contract. “Either you sign this or tomorrow, you will be called out in front of all of society.”

Stephen watched as Lord Craighall’s color faded completely. It was not as though he had any choice, Stephen realized, finding himself silently thrilled that Lord Craighall would be so easily defeated. This was to be the end of the gentleman’s schemes, the end of his dark intentions not only for Lady Violet but also for Lady Marianne. The gentleman did not know that latter part yet, however and Stephen, deciding not to explain further, simply gestured for him to pick up the quill and sign it.

“Do hurry up,” he said, keeping his voice calm but his eyes a little narrowed. “I do not have much time to waste.”

It took Lord Craighall a few minutes to respond but Stephen waited patiently, aware that the gentleman would need a few minutes to not only consider all that was being said to him but also all that he had to do. It was a good deal that he would be giving up in signing the document, though he would also be gaining financial support given that he would be able to keep Lady Violet’s dowry. That was not insignificant.

“V… very well.” With a slight tremble in his hand, Lord Craighall reached for his quill and, picking it up, paused for just a moment before signing it where it was required.

“And your seal, if you please.”

Lord Craighall looked up at him, a clear protest on his lips but Stephen only frowned, saying nothing. Lord Craighall’s shoulders rounded and with a sigh, he picked up his wax and began the process to press his ring into the hot wax. It took a few minutes but soon, it was done and with that, Stephen permitted himself to smile.

“I thank you,” he said, taking the contract away. “Might I also inform you that within this contract, it states that should you attempt to do anything as regards Lady Marianne, should you threaten her, coerce her or do that sort of thing in any other way, then you will also be required to pay the dowry threefold.”

Lord Craighall’s mouth dropped open.

“I care for Lady Violet a great deal and given that she is concerned for her sister, I am concerned also,” Stephen finished, rolling up the contract as he spoke. “Now, do excuse me. I am to take this to the solicitors and this evening, when I see Lady Violet, I intend to offer her my hand. Should you have said even a single word to her, Lord Craighall, should she tell me of anything that you said or did as a consequence of this, then be prepared to draw pistols at dawn.” With a nod, he turned away and, with Lord Hampton following after him, the two quit the room without offering the gentleman another word.

“I think you did very well, my friend. Very well indeed.”

Stephen glanced at Lord Hampton and then, after a moment, returned his comment with a smile. “I thank you for your support with all of this, Hampton. I could not have done it without you. It is not at all what I deserve.”

“Happy to offer it,” came the reply. “This is to be an excellent Season for us all, I believe.” He chuckled softly as they made their way from the house; Stephen being already aware that Lady Violet was not present at the moment. “There shall be two weddings instead of one, if all goes well.”

Stephen’s heart lifted and he could not help but smile. “Let us pray that it does,” he said, as they stepped back towards the carriage, “for I can think of nothing better.”